2/15/2021 football Edit

Rutgers Football forming strong pipeline with Berkeley Prep in Florida

Richie O'Leary • TheKnightReport

Publisher

Before Rutgers Football head coach Greg Schiano made his return to the banks back in December of 2019, he made a couple of coaching stops along the way.

One of those stops was as a volunteer assistant coach at Berkeley Prep High School down in Tampa, Florida; the school where all his sons played at.

"First off I think it's no secret that I have great feelings for the football program, the head coach and the whole school," Schiano said in his press conference. "All my kids went to school there when I was down in Tampa and had tremendous experiences. I actually coached there for two years, my first year I was kind of hanging around, but my second year I dove in head first. Coach (Dominick) Ciao is a dear friend, a fantastic football coach and a fantastic man."

SIGN UP FOR PREMIUM FOR FREE UNTIL EASTER — CLICK HERE FOR MORE!

Since leaving the program, Schiano has convinced five Berkeley Prep alumni to join him at the college level, one to Ohio State and now four to Rutgers.

Schiano said the main reason why he likes to recruit Berkeley Prep so much is cause of the similarities between that program and the one he has ran in the past and the one he runs currently at Rutgers.

“There's a lot of similarities in our programs, I know there is," said Schiano. "Coach Ciao does things the way I do or he does them the way I do, whatever way you want to look at it. I think the players in their program are going to feel very comfortable here because that is what they are accustomed too. They will just be doing it at a higher level now. It's exciting for me because it opens up that area even more. It gives us a great opportunity in that Tampa / St. Pete area."

The latest former Berkeley Prep product to join Schiano at the collegiate level is Kansas State transfer wide receiver Joshua Youngblood, who Schiano thinks could be a dangerous playmaker.

“There are some natural relationships there," Schiano said. "My kids, my twins played with Josh. Joey played with Mayan (Ahanotu) and my twins played with Mayan so there is a lot of crossover there."

Along with Youngblood, Rutgers also added quarterback Gavin Rupp and linebacker Austin Dean, both of whom are also Berkeley Prep products.

Stay tuned for more on Schiano and Rutgers Football news right here on The Knight Report!